NFL Reinstates Suspended Dallas Cowboys Pass-Rusher: Report

Less than a week after claiming they hadn’t heard anything on Aldon Smith, the Dallas Cowboys finally got an answer.

The NFL on Wednesday conditionally reinstated the veteran edge defender, according to multiple reports, ending a half-decade suspension brought about by various off-field incidents. Smith held a video conference with commissioner Roger Goodell last Thursday when it was decided that he’s officially allowed to return.

Beginning May 26, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Smith will be permitted to participate in the Cowboys’ virtual offseason program and all future team activities.

Once-upon-a-time the sport’s premier young pass-rusher, Smith spiraled out of the league in 2016 following a string of arrests, issues with alcoholism, domestic violence allegations, and disturbing revelations. A repeated violater of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, the 30-year-old has since turned his life around and, with the help of FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer, aimed to reassimilate into the pros.

Smith’s third arrest for Driving Under the Influence, in August 2015, after serving a nine-game suspension the previous season for violating the substance abuse and personal conduct policies, precipitated his release from the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted the Missouri product with the No. 7 overall pick in 2011. It also landed Smith a one-year suspension.

He resurfaced with the Raiders in 2016 but was forced to sit out the following two campaigns as his request for reinstatement was not granted. Smith was involved in an alleged domestic violence episode in 2018, which prompted the Raiders to cut ties.

For his star-crossed career, Smith’s totaled 47.5 sacks across 59 games, spread between Oakland and San Francisco. His best year came in 2012 when Smith tallied 19.5 sacks — an exceptional encore after a 14-sack rookie debut.

The Cowboys signed Smith to a one-year, $4 million contract on April 1. He’ll earn $2 million in base salary and an additional $2 million in unlockable incentives. Smith has incentive to play, and play well, in Dallas, where he reunites with former 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula, now the Cowboys’ defensive line coach.

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, he’ll make $40,625 each time he’s on the active gameday roster, or $650,000 in total. He has additional sack escalators built into his contract; $500,000 for eight, $1 million for 10, $1.5 million for 12, and $2 million for 14.

He’ll require an acclimation period, but after getting up to speed, Smith should juice a lacking Cowboys pass-rush. His acquisition helps offset the loss of last season’s team sack leader, Robert Quinn, who bolted to the Chicago Bears in free agency. Smith joins a stacked defensive line which features DeMarcus Lawrence and free-agent addition Gerald McCoy, and, when he’s standing up, an uber-talented linebacker corps highlighted by Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, and Sean Lee.

“He has trained his butt off. His conditioning is great. I think he played at 260. We got him to 287. He is just freaking monstrous,” Glazer said of Smith last month. “We do this hand-fighting drill, me and the guys. We had him on these resistance cords connected to the wall on a machine called the Raptor. I’ve had a ton of guys on it — big huge guys, monsters. Smith ripped it off the wall, doing hand-fighting and exploding off the line. No one has ever done that. He is an absolute freak of nature. I don’t know who to compare him to because he’s 287 with a V. It’s ridiculous. I’m excited to get him back there.”

It’s unclear what Smith’s ruling means for similarly suspended Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory, a habitual policy offender who was suspended indefinitely in February 2019 for breaking the terms of his conditional reinstatement.

Dallas vice president Stephen Jones revealed last week he’s been kept in the dark regarding Gregory’s status.

“I think Randy may or — I’m not exactly sure where that is,” Jones said in reference to a potential meeting with Goodell. “Sometimes we’re not privy to that. We’re not sure when we’ll hear something. Obviously, the league is looking out for their best interest. As men off the field and certainly that’s what’s first and foremost and the priority is how they’re coming off the field. If ultimately they get to a point which we think they can that Roger [Goodell] feels like they can come back to work and play football and that’s in their best interest in addition to what they need off the field, then certainly we’ll welcome them back and go to work.”

That Smith and Gregory were placed in holding patterns ultimately had little effect on the Cowboys’ defensive plans. Following the defections of Quinn and defensive tackle Maliek Collins (Raiders), the team splurged on McCoy, DT Dontari Poe and safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, spent a fifth-round pick on edge rusher Bradlee Anae, and are expected to re-sign starting nose tackle Antwaun Woods.

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